Remote controlling apparatus



Nov. 7, 1939. N. F. AGNEW REMOTE CONTROLLING APPARATUS Filed May 12,1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 QMRM N. F. AGNEW 2,179,311 REMOTE CONTROLLINGAPPARATUS Filed May l2, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 v m w M m m W W mam n R JM A? gm VI IWm m M M NMM /1.|. Q Em .vmab F LJW .U Q AN 1% SN fim A SQ?u wk w w E Nov. 7, 1939.

F I n V KIIL w wmw R AW N5 5% MW Patented Nov. 7, 1939 PATENT OFFICE2,179,311 REMOTE CONTROLLING APPARATUS Norman F. Agnew, Stockton,Calif., assignor to The Union Switch & Signal Company, Swissvale, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application May 12, 1930, Serial No. 451,668

70 Claims.

My invention relates to remote controlling apparatus of the typecomprising means for controlling from one point a selected device at aremote point, and for also indicating atsaid one point the condition ofsuch device. Apparatus embodying my invention is particularly suitablefor, though in no way limited to, use in a system of centralized trafliccontrol for railroads providing for the control and indication of rail-Way traffic governing devices, such as switches and signals, from acontrol station, such as a dispatchers office.

I will describe two forms of apparatus embodying my invention, and willthen point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figs. 1 and 2,

when placed end to end with Fig. 1 on the left,

form a diagrammatic view showing one form of remote controllingapparatus embodying my invention. f Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic viewshowing a modified form of part of the apparatus shown in Fig. land alsoembodying my invention. Fig.

4 is a detail view illustrating the circuit for controlln-g the trackrepeater relay ITP shown in Fig. 2.. Fig. 5 is a detail. view showingthe control circuit for the switch indication relay IKR 1 illustrated inFig. 2. Figs. 6 and 7 are diagram- I for controlling and indicatingmovable devices located at a plurality of other points, such for exampleas, signal locations or stations distributed along a stretch of track.As here shown, Fig. 2 illustrates the apparatus located at one stationand Fig. 1 illustrates so much of the oifice equipment asis necessary tocooperate with the equipment located at the station shown on Fig. 2. Itwill be understood, of course, that certain obvious duplications wouldbe made in the oflice 9 equipment, as indicated in the drawings, toaccommodate the system to additional stations similar to that shown onFig. 2.

The apparatus at the station which is controlled. from the office may beof any suitable form, and for purposes of illustration, I have hereshown a section of railway track w-b provided with a track circuitincluding a battery d and a track relay lTR. The section .ctb contains aswitch e of the usual form. leading into a siding f. Westbound trafiic,that is, traflic moving from right to left, as shown in the drawings, isgoverned by two signals IRB and IRA, and eastbound trafiic is controlledby two similar signals ILA and ILB. As here shown, signals ILA and ILBare mounted upon the same mast and this mast also carries a call-on armIC. Adjacent the left-hand end of section a-b is an approach section oftrack h--a provided with a track circuit including a battery it and anapproach track relay IAR.

The switches, signals, etc., at the station may be controlled in anysuitable manner by means forming no part of my present invention. Forpurposes of illustration, I will assume that the apparatus at thestation is controlled by means similar to that disclosed in anapplication for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial No. 373,675,filed June 25, 1929, by Lloyd V. Lewis, for Remote controllingapparatus, now Patent No, 2,127,691, granted August 23, 1938. Foraccomplishing this control, the station is provided with a trackrepeater relay ITP which is energized only when the track relay ITR isenergized, andwith a switch indication relay IKR which is energized inits normal (left-hand) position or its reverse (right-hand) positionaccording as switch e occupies its normal or its reverse posi tion. Asshown in Fig. 4, relay ITP is controlled by front contact I15 of trackrelay ITR, so that relay ITP is energized only when relay ITR is pickedup. The switch indication relay IKR may be controlled, as shown in Fig.5, by pole changer contacts I16 andI'I'I operated by the switch e, insuch manner that the relay is supplied with current of one polarity orthe other according as the switch occupies one extreme position or theother. .The reference characters INWS and IRWS designate switch controlrelays which operate, through the medium. of circuits not shown in thedrawings, to move switch 6 to its normal position when relay INWS isenergized and to its reverse position when relay IRWS is energized.Relays ILHS and IRI-IS are signal control relays which control signalsassociated with section ab in such manner that when relay ILHS isenergized, signal ILA or ILB indicates proceed, according as switch e isnormal or reverse, provided the track relay ITR is energized. In similarmanner, when relay IRHS is energized, signal IRB or signal IRA indicatesproceed, according as switch e is reverse or normal, provided the trackrelay ITR is energized. In addition, a relay IRI-I is energized wheneither of signals IRB or IRA indicates proceed, and a relay ILH isenergized when either of signals ILA or ILB indicates proceed. Fig. 6shows how relay ILH may be controlled by circuit controllers I18 and I19operated by signals ILB and ILA, respectively, and Fig. '7 shows relayIRI-I controlled by circuit controllers I80 and IBI operated by signals[RB and IRA, respectively. The call-on arm IC is controlled by relayICI-IS in such manner that when the relay ICI-IS is energized, thecall-on arm is cleared.

Of the relays described in the foregoing paragraph, relays ITP, IKR,IIWVS, ERWS, IRI-I and ILH correspond exactly to the relays havingsimilar reference characters in the Lewis application mentioned above.The remaining relays are controlled in accordance with usual and well,

known railway signaling practice, and the operation of the relays willbe understood Without further explanation.

For the purpose of controlling the apparatus located at the station,there is located at the office a switch control lever Ip, a signalcontrol lever la, and a call-on lever I7 for each station. As shown inFig. 1, these parts are distributed to simplify the wiring diagram butin actual practice, all control levers for one station would be groupedtogether on a single panel which would also carry the indication lampswhich will be described hereinafter and which are controlled from thecorresponding station.

In general, my invention provides a synchronous selector comprising achain of counting relays PI, Pia, P2, 19%, etc., located at the Offi0and arranged to be energized in succession as the controlling andindicating functions proceed. I also provide a second synchronousselector comprising another chain of counting relays which operate insynchronism, with the counting chain at the ofiice, but this secondchain is distributed throughout the system, certain relays being locatedat each station so that the stations as units are operated successivelyin synchronism with the chain of counting relays at the office.

For accomplishing the purposes described above, I provide line wiresbetween the oflice and the several stations. Line wire I is a commonreturn wire and is connected at the office and at each station with thecommon terminals C of all control circuits at the correspondinglocation. In addition, the office is provided with two sources ofcurrent of different characteristics. As here shown, these sources arebatteries 5 and B which are oppositely connected with the common wire Iso that the terminals B and N of these batteries, when connected througha conductor with terminal C, deliver to the conductor, currents ofopposite polarities. In similar manner, other batteries 5 and 6 areconnected with line wire I at the station and their terminals LB and LNmay be connected with the circuits shown at the station to providecurrents of opposite polarities.

The apparatus also comprises a line wire 2 extending from the office toeach of the stations and serving as a stick wire controlling asupplemental selector performing certain functions which will bedescribed in detail hereinafter. In addition to the two wires I and 2, asuitable number of wires are provided for accomplishing the transmissionof the control and indication impulses between the oflice and thestations, and for controlling the step-by-step operation of thesynchronous selectors. The number of these additional wires may bevaried to meet special conditions, but for purposes of illustration Ihave shown two wires comprising a stepping wire 3 and a message wire 4for this purpose.

Before describing the operation of the apparatus, it should be pointedout that, as shown in the drawings, lever I 7' occupies the position inwhich the call-on arm indicates stop; lever Ip occupies the position inwhich the switch con-- trolled thereby at the station occupies itsnormal position; and the signal lever lq occupies the position for whichan eastbound signal determined by the position of the switch, in thiscase ILA, indicates proceed.

At the station, the switch e occupies its normal position, signal ILAindicates proceed and all of the remaining signals indicate stop. RelayILI-I is therefore energized. The approach relay IAR and track relay ITR are both energized so that the track repeater relay ITP is alsoenergized. Relay INWS is energized and relay ILHS is also energized aswill be described hereinafter. The spnchronous selectors are normally atrest in a zero position, as shown.

I will now assume that the operator at the office wishes to restore tostop, signal ILA at the station shown in Fig. 2. In order to accomplishthis result, he moves the signal control lever lg to its middleposition, in which both contacts controlled by arm I of this lever areopen, and he then reverses a manually operable starting key W. When thishappens, current flows from terminal B, through contact 8-8 of key W,back contact 9 of a relay KP, and winding of a relay RI to terminal C.Relay RI therefore becomes energized. At the same time a circuit iscompleted for a relay OH from terminal B, over contact I IIIl of key W,and winding of relay OH to terminal C. When relay OH becomes energized,a stick circuit is completed for this relay over its own front contact II, and over a back contact I2 of the last relay in the counting chain ofrelays PI, PI a, P2, etc., at the ofiice. The purpose of relay OH willbe apparent as the description proceeds, but at the present juncture,this relay has no function.

When relay RI becomes energized, a circuit is completed for the firstrelay PI in the counting chain at the office. This circuit may be tracedfrom terminal B, over front contact 13 of relay RI, back contact I 4 ofa relay K, back contact I5 of relay KP and winding of counting relay Plto terminal C. Relay PI therefore becomes energized.

The operator may now restore key W to the position in which it is shownin the drawings. When this happens, the circuit previously traced forrelay RI is interrupted, so that the relay is deenergized. When contacti il of key W is closed, however, a circuit is completed for relay Kfrom terminal B, over contact 88 of key W, front contact I6 of relay PI,and winding of relay K to terminal C. When relay K picks up it closes atfront contact I! thereon, the circuit for relay KP. Relays K and KP aresomewhat slow releasing and as will be explained hereinafter, maintaintheir front contacts closed until the expiration of a complete operationof the equipment. The energization of relay K also completes a stickcircuit for relay PI, which passes from terminal B, over front contactI8 of relay K, back contact I9 of relay PIa, front contact 20 of relayPI, and winding of relay PI to terminal C. Relay PI therefore remainsenergized until relay PIa, which is the next relay in the countingchain, becomes energized.

Another result of this energization of relay K is that when its frontcontact 2I closes, terminal B at the oifice is connected with line wire2. This line Wire is connected over back contact 22 of a relay SI at thestation nearest the office with the winding of relay DI and it followsthat when relay K at the office becomes energized, relay DI at thestation picks up.

When relay DI at the station becomes energized the apparatus is incondition for-the transmission of the first control impulse. As hereshown current of one polarity or the other is supplied, during thisimpulse, to the stepping line wire 3 at the office in accordance withthe position of the switch control lever lp, and under the conditionshere assumed this control circuit may be traced from terminal B at theoflice, through arm 23 operated by lever In, front contact 24 of relayPl, winding of relay OT, back contact 25 of relay RI, line wire 3, frontcontact 26 of relay DI at the station, back contact 21 of relay SI, andwinding of relay IWR to terminal C, It will be plain, therefore, thatrelays OT and IWR, become energized in series and the polarity of thecurrent thus supplied to these relays iscontrolled by the position ofthe switch control lever lp. Since lp occupies its normal position,relay IWR becomes energized in the normal direction so that its polarcontact 28 is swung to the left. i

l The closing of front contact 30 of relay IWR supplies current overback contact 3| of relay SE to the winding of relay SI, which thereuponbecomes energized and is therefore stuck up over its own front contact3| and line wire 2, which line wire we have previously explained issupplied with energy over front contact 2! of relay K at the office.When relay SI becomes energized, the circuit previously traced for relayDl is interrupted but relay DI is held energized over back contact 32 ofrelay TI and front contact 22 of relay Sl, as will be apparent from thedrawings.

It will be noted that the energization of relay SI interrupts thepick-up circuit previously traced for relay IWR at back contact 21 ofrelay SI. Relay IWR is held energized, however, be cause its frontcontact 5| is closed and this contact provides a shunt around backcontact 27 of relay SI.

When relay IWR becomes energized, the c1osing of front contact 29 ofthis relay completes a circuit for relay IWP and the latter relaybecomes energized.

When relay l WP becomes energized, the opening of back contact 33 of.this relay interrupts the stick circuit previously existing for relayINWS and passing from terminal LB, over back contact 33 of relay l WP,front contact 34 of relay lNWS and winding of relay INWS to terminal C.The interruption of this stick circuit does not deenergize relay iNWS,however, because another circuit is now closed for this relay includingfront contact 33 of relay IWP and normal contact 28 of relay IWR, asWillbe obvious from the drawings. Relays INWS therefore remainsenergized and when relay IWP next becomes deenergized, the stick circuitfor relay INWS is restored. The switch e at the station thereforeremains in its normal position,

When relays DI and IWR at the station close their front contacts, relayIE is connected with the message line wire 4, but this wire isconnected, at the office, through front contact 46 of relay Pl, with thearms 1 of signal lever lq. Since the lever Iq occupies its middleposition, no current is supplied to the line wire 4 under theseconditions and relay IHC remains open. The

opening of back contact 31 of relay IWP, how

ever, interrupts the stick circuit previously existing for relay ILHSthrough the latter relays front contact 38 and since the pick-up circuitfor relay ILHS is open at front contact 39 of relay I HP, relay lLI-ISbecomes de-energized} thereby restoring signal lLA to stop.

Reverting now to the equipment located at the ofiice, it will beremembered that relay OT becomes energized in series with relay IWR atthe station during the first control impulse. When relay OT becomesenergized a stick circuit is completed for relay K which maybe tracedfrom terminal 13, over contact ii-8 of key W, front contact 39 of relayOT, front contact lfl of relay K and winding of relay K to terminal C.Relay K, and hence relay KP, therefore remain picked up. Furthermore,the energization of relay OT completes a pick-up circuit for relay PMfrom terminal 3, over front contact 18 of relay Ii, front contact ll ofrelay KP, front contact d2 of relay OT, front contact 63 of relay Pi andwinding of relay Pia to ter'minal C. When relay Pla becomes energized,the opening of back contact ill thereon, interrupts the stick circuitfor relay PI, and this relay opens its front contact 43 to break thepick-up circuit just traced for relay Pl a. Relay PM is held energized,however, over a stick circuit including front contact it of relay K,backcontact it of relay P2 and front contact 45 of relay Plan When relayPl releases, the opening of its front contact 24 (shown adjacent leverlp) interrupts the control circuit including relays OT and lWR so thatthese relays become deenergized to terminate the first control impulse.It should be pointed out that this operation of relay Pl would alsodisconnect line wire t from its energy at lever Iq by the opening offront contact 46 of relay Pl, if the lever lq were in position to supplycurrent to line wire t to give a proceed signal indication as will bedescribed in detailhereinafter. When relays OT and IWR release, thestation equipment steps to the next set of'relays, to prepare for thetransmission of the second control impulse. This isdone by means of acircuit which picks up relay D2 and passes from terminal LB, over backcontact 3813f relay lWR, front contact ll of relay Si, back contact -l8of relay S2, and winding of relay D2 to terminal C. i

However, ,the second control impulse is not transmitted at this time,but the control and indication impulses alternate, and back contacts atand 36 of relay IWR which are now closed serve as transmitter contactsto initiate the first indication impulse. I l

Relay Tl at the station and relay Rl at the office are now energized inseries over the stepping llne wire 3 to give at the office an indicationof the condition of certain apparatus at the station and in the presentinstance the indication transmitted, under these conditions, is a trackindication which informs the operator at the office concerning thecondition of section a--b. Forthis purpose the indication circuitincluding relays Ti and El is supplied with current of one polarity orthe other at the station according as relay UK is energized ordeenergized. As shown in the drawings, relay lTK is deenergized becauserelay i'lTP is energized when the section (t o is unoccupied, and so theindication circuit may be traced from terminal LN at the station, overback contact it of relay lTK, winding of relay Tl, front contact t ofrelay Si, back con-' tact M of relay lWR, front contact 26 of relay Di,line wire 3, back contact 52 of relay Pl, front contact ti l of relay PMand winding of relay Rl to terminal C. The current thus supplied 00'relay Rl energizes this relay in its reverse direc-- tion so that thepolar armature 54 of this relay is swung to the right. Under theseconditions, the pick-up circuit for relay ORTI remains open, althoughfront contact 55 of relay PM and front contact 56 of relay RI areclosed. Relay ORTI therefore remains deenergized and lamp 5'! remainsdark to indicate that the section at the corresponding station isunoccupied.

At the same time that the track indication is delivered over thestepping line wire 3, another indication is delivered over the messageline wire 4. As here shown, the second indication is a switchindication, and current of one polarity or the other is supplied to linewire 4, depending upon the position of relay IKR, which it will beremembered responds to the position of switch e at the station. Sincethe switch is now normal, the switch indication circuit may be tracedfrom terminal LB at the station through normal contact 58 of relay IKR,front contact 59 of relay IKR, winding of relay IWD, front contact 50 ofrelay SI, back contact 36 of relay IWR, front contact of relay DI, linewire I, front contact GI of relay PIa, back contact 62 of relay PI, andwinding of relay R2 to terminal C. Relays IWD and R2 are energized inthe normal direction so that the polar armatures of these relays areswung to the left. When relay R2 becomes onergized, a pick-up circuit iscompleted for relay ONWI, from terminal B, over front contact 63 ofrelay R2, normal contact 64 of relay R2, front contact 65 of relay PMand winding of relay ONWI to terminal C. When relay R2 next becomesdeenergized, the pick-up circuit just traced is interrupted but therelay ONWI will be held in its energized condition over a stick circuitincluding back contact 66 of relay Fla and front contact 6'! of relayONWI. Under these conditions, that is, with relay ONWI energized,current is supplied to an indication lamp 68, over front contact 69 ofrelay ONWI, thereby lighting the lamp to indicate that switch 6 at thestation occupies its normal position.

The indication impulse transmitted over line 3 is also a steppingimpulse, and when relay RI becomes energized, it closes a pick-upcircuit for relay P2, from terminal B, over front contact I3 of relayRI, front contact I4 of relay KA, front contact ID of relay Pia, andwinding of relay P2 to terminal C. Relay P2 therefore becomes energized,breaking the stick circuit for relay Plc and completing its own stickcircuit through contact I8 of relay K, back contact ll of relay P211,and front contact 72 of relay P2.

It will be noted that if relay PIa should re lease before the indicationimpulse is terminated, the pick-up circuit previously traced for relayRI is opened at contact 54 of relay Pia, but relay R! would be heldenergized because its front contact 25 provides a shunt around contact54.

At the station, when TI became energized, the stick circuit previouslytraced for relay DI was interrupted at back contact 32 of relay TI sothat relay DI became deenergized. When relay DI releases, the circuitsthrough relays TI and RI and through elays WW3 and R2 are opened toterminate the first indication impulse, and back contacts 26 and 35 ofrelay DI connect the line wire 3 with the next group of apparatus Ashere shown this next group is a part of th apparatus at the samestation, but this arrang ment is not essential. In order to place theequipment in condition to receive the second control impulse, theoperation of a supplementary selector relay IM at the station isrequired, which relay is energized by current delivered over a frontcontact of relay OH at the office, which it will be remembered wasactuated by operation of the key W. The contact of relay OH whicheffects this result is numbered l3 and is located in the drawingsimmediately below the signal control lever iq. Relay PIa at the officereleases shortly after the first indication impulse is termihated, andwhen relay PIa releases, the circuit for relay IM becomes closed. Thiscircuit may be traced from terminal B, through front contact '53 ofrelay OH, front contact it of relay P2, back contact SI of relay Pia,line wire 4, back contact 35 of relay DI, front contact 1 5 of relay D2,back contact I6 of relay S2, and winding of relay iM to terminal C.Relay EM picks up and initiates the second control impulse by completingthe circuit for relays OT and ECH which are energized in series overline wire 3, the polarity of the current supplied to this circuit beingcontrolled by the position of the call-on lever i9. As shown in thedrawings, this circuit may be traced from terminal B, over arm 'I'Icontrolled by lever Ii, front contact I8 of relay P2, back contact 79 ofrelay PIa, winding of relay OT, back contact 25 of relay RI, line wire3, back contact 26 of relay DI, front contact 80 of relay D2, backcontact 62 of relay S2, front contact 823 of relay IM, and winding ofrelay ECH to terminal C. Relay lCH therefore becomes energized, and thepolarity of the current supplied to this relay is such that the polararmature is swung to the left. When relay ICH becomes energized, itpicks up relay S2 over front contact 83 of relay iCH, and back contact 85 of relay S2. When relay S2 is energized, it completes a stick circuitby virtue of which it is subsequently held in its energized conditionover its own front contact 64, front contact H of relay Si, and backcontact 38 of relay IWR. It will be observed that the energization ofrelay S2 interrupts the pick-up circuit previously traced for relay ECHat back contact 8| of relay S2. Relay ICE-I is held energized, however,because its front contact 85 is closed and this contact provides a shuntaround back contact 8! of relay S2.

When relay S2 becomes energized, the circuit previously traced for relayD2 is interrupted, but relay D2 is now held energized over back contact86 and relay T2 and front contact Q8 of relay S2. Since relay ICE isenergized in the normal direction so that its polar armature 8! is swungto the left, the circuit for relay iCl-IS remains open, and this relayremains deenergized so that the call-on arm I C at point a continues todisplay its stop indication.

The purpose of relay IM is to permit the apparatus to step forward tothe next location automatically, since, as will be describedhereinafter, the normal operation of the apparatus when initiated froman outside station is to operate only until that particular station hasreturned its indication. When operation is initiated at the oflice,however, it is usually desirable to step completely through theequipment so that indications are received of the condition of allapparatus controlled from the oflice. For this purpose, the relay OH isarranged to be energized when the key W is operated and to remainenergized until the final counting relay has been operated.

When relay OT becomes energized by the second control impulse, asexplained above, the circuit is again closed for relay K which insuresthat this relay will remain picked up. Furthermore, the energization ofrelay OT completes a pick-up circuit for relay P211 similar to thecircuit previously traced. for relay Pla, as will be understood withouttracing this circuit-in detail. When relay PZc becomes energizedytheopening of its back contact ll interrupts the stick circuit for relayPiso that relay P2 becomes'deenergized and releases; When this happensthe opening of front contact 18 of relay P2-(ad jacent lever I7) and theopening 'of front contact M of relay P2 (adjacent lever lq) interruptthe control circuits previously described and terminates the secondcontrol impulse. Relays IlVI, [CH and 'OT then become deehergized. Whenrelay ICH releases, it closes its back contact 83, therebyconnectingterminal LB with line Wire 2A, extendingto "the next stationand thus picking up the relay at that station which corresponds to relayDl at the stationshown on Fig. 2. This operation, of course, preparestheapparatus at this next station to receive the succeeding impulses in thesame"manner"as described in connection with the station shown in Fig. 2.When relay 'lCH releases, it initiates the second indication impulseby"completing 'a circuit for relay T2 at the station and relay R! at theoffice in seriesjoverlin'e Wire'3.., The 'Ipolarity of the currentsupplied'to this circuitis' controlled in accordance with the conditionof the approach section h'a, and as h'e're' shown is governed by relaylAK controlled bythe approach track relay IAR. As shown in the drawings, relay lARis energized, so that relay 'IAK is deenergized and thecircuit then closedpasses from terminal LN, through'back contact '88 ofrelay IAK, winding of relay T2, front contact 89' of relay S2, backcontact 85 of relayl'CI-I', front contact80 of relay D2, back contact 26of relay Di, back contact 90 of relayPZj frontcontact 9| of relay P2a,andwinding of relay R! to teriiiinal C. The polarity of the currentsuppued to this circuit is such that relay BI is energized to swing itspolar. armatures to the rigl'it"so' that relay ORA! remainsdeenergized," even though front contact 56 of relay Rlan'd frontcontact92 of relay P2a becomes closed. Lamp 93 therefore remains darkito" indicate that {the approach section ha at the station is unoccupied.When relay Rl becomes energized, relay P 3at thefofiice is energizedover front contact l3 of relayfR l front contact M of relayK and frontcontact Q4 of relay P2a. RelayP3 then picks up and is subsequentlystuckup over back contact 95 of re'lafi P311, while relay PZa becomes'deenergized. Even if relay P20. releases, however, relay RI will beheld energized over itsfront contact 25 and;

line wire 3, until the impulse is terminated by the release of thestation relay D2 and the open-' ing of front contact 80 of that may;

As pointed out hereinbefore,all1signals at the station shown on Fig. 2are at stop, so that relays IRI-I and lLH are both deenergized. ;As aresult,

no circuit is completedfo r relayfRZ when the circuit previously tracedfor reIaysfIZ and RI. is: closed. As a result, no pick u'p circuit isclosed for relay OLHI at the officeand since the stick circuit for thisrelay is interrupted at back conenergized,relay OLHl becomes deenergizedto extinguish lamp 9?. Back contact!!! of relay OLHI and back contact 99of relay ORHI "are then both closed, so that lamp lllll is lighted toindicate that all of the signals at thejstation indicate stop. l

i When relay-T2 became energized in series with relay Rl,the stickcircuit forrelay D2 over back contact 86 of relay T2 was opened, so thatrelay D2 is'now deenergized and releases, terminating the impulse. Whenback contact 80 of relay D2 closes, the line wire 3 is completed to thenext stationto the right of that shown on Fig. 2.

Theiirst control impulse for that station is initiated when relay P2acloses its back contact in the circuit for relay OT, and the operationat this station will be understood from the previous discussion of theapparatus shown on Fig. 2.

All of the remaining stations operate in succession in a similar manneruntil the last station has been controlled and has indicated itscondition to the office. When this happens, the final counting relay atthe oifice becomes energized, thereby opening its back contact 12 andbreaking the stick circuit for relay OH at the ofiice. Relay Ol-I thenreleases and since front contact 13 of relay OH is then open, no controlcircuit'is closed to energize relay OT. The slow release relays K and Kpthen become deenergized and release successively, and when relay Kreleases, it deenergizes relay Si. The release of relay SI deenergizesrelay S2 and all corresponding relays are deener'gized in succession sothat the apparatus is restored to its normal condition.

It will be plain from the foregoing that if the key W at the office isoperated, the equipment is set into operation to transmit a series ofstepping impulses which serve alternately as control and indicationimpulses to condition all of the devices at the several stations insuccession in accordance With'the positions of the control leverscorresponding thereto at the office, and also toindicate at the oflicethe condition of the several devices. This is performed by sending out afirstcontrol impulse from the office to a first station, then sending anindication impulse from that station, then sending another controlimpulsefrom the oihce and another indication impulse from the station,then stepping to the next station, and repeating this process until allstations inorder have been controlled and have indicated.

It should be pointed out also that if the control levers at the officeoccupy different positions from those previously assumed, the actualcontrol at the station may be different, although the general plan ofoperation remains the same. For example, I will assume that the signalcontrol lever lq is moved to its RI-If? position so that arm 7 engagesthe contact connected with terminal N. Under these conditions,.whenrelay IWR at the station shown on Fig. "2, becomes energized, relaylI-IC at the station is energized during the first control impulse toswing its polar armature to the right. Relay I WP will be energize'dunder these circumstances, and a circuit is then completed, over frontcontact .31 of relay IWP, and front contact l0! of relay IHC toenergize'relay IHP. Relay IHP is subsequently stuck up over its ownfront contact I02 and front contact 3l of relay IWP. .Since relay IHC isenergized in its reverse direction so that polar armaturelllii is swungto the right, current is supplied to relay IRHS over front contact 39 ofrelay lI lP and reverse contact I03 of relay IHC. Relay IRHS thenbecomes energized, and is subsequently stuck up over its own frontcontact I04 and back contact 3'! of relay IWP after the latter relaybecomes deenergized. Since relay l Rl-I Sis energized, signal. IE3 orlRAindicates proceed, depending upon the position of switch 6.

In the present instance, since switch 6 is normal, signal IRA would bemoved to the proceed position.

In similar manner, if signal control lever lq is restored to theposition in which it is shown in the drawings so that arm I engages thecontact connected with terminal B, and the apparatus is then set intooperation, relay IHC will be energized during the first control impulseto swing its polar armature to the left when relay D! becomes energized.When this happens, relay IE? will become energized, as explainedhereinbefore, and a pick-up circuit will then be closed for relay ILHSover front contact 39 of relay IHP and normal contact I83 of relay IHC.Relay ILHS then becomes energized and is subsequently stuck up afterrelay IWP becomes deenergized, over back contact 31 of relay I WP andfront contact 38 of relay lLHS. When relay ILHS is energized, signal ILBor ILA indicates proceed, depending upon the position of switch e, andas here shown, with switch e normal, signal ILA indicates proceed.

Similarly, I will assume that switch control lever ip occupies itsreverse position, so that arm 23 engages the contact connected withterminal N. If the apparatus is now set into operation to control andindicate the several stations, when relays OT and IWR become energizedafter relay DI becomes energized, the polarity of the current suppliedto relay IWR swings the polar contact 28 of this relay to the right.When relay IWP becomes energized, current is then supplied over frontcontact 33 of relay IWP, reverse contact 28 of relay IWR, and winding ofrelay IRWS to terminal C. When relay IWP next becomes deenergized, astick circuit is completed for relay IRWS, over back contact 33 of relayIWP and front contact I of relay IRWS. When relay IRWS is energized, theswitch 6 is operated to its reverse position.

The switch, may of course, be restored to its normal position byrestoring the lever Ip to its normal position in which it is shown inthe drawings and operating the key W, under which conditions, theapparatus will operate as previously described to pick-up a stick relayINWS and restore the switch to its normal position.

The call-on lever I9 is customarily employed to clear a call-on arm,such as IC, of a signal located at point a on Fig. 2 when the propercontrols are set up to clear one of the signals, such as ILA or ILR, butwhen such signal is prevented from assuming its proceed position by somedangerous condition such as the presence of a train in section ab. Forexample, I will assume that the lever Iq occupies its LH position, asshown in the drawings, so that relays IHS and ILH at the station areenergized, but that because of a train in section ab', the signal ILA isprevented from clearing. If, now, the operator at the oiiice moves leverI9 to the right, connecting arm 'Il attached to terminal N, he may causethe call-on arm I C at the station to indicate proceed. This isaccomplished as follows: When relay OT at the o-fiice and relay ICH atthe station become energized in series during the second control impulsefollowing the energization of relays D2 and I M, the current supplied tothe circuit including relay ICE is of such polarity that relay ICI-Iswings its polar contact 8'I to the right. When this happens, a circuitis closed from terminal LB, over contact 8'! of relay ICH, winding ofrelay ICHS, front contact I06 of relay ILHS to terminal C. Relay ICHSthen becomes energized and clears signal IC by means forming no part ofmy present invention.

In the previous discussion I have assumed that the apparatus is set intooperation by manipulation of the key W at the omce. The operation canalso be started automatically in response to any change in the conditionof a movable device at any station. In explaining this feature of myinvention, I will first assume that with the apparatus in the conditionshown in the drawings, a train enters section ab at the station shown onFig. 2. When this happens, relay ITR becomes deenergized. The opening offront contact I15 of relay ITR breaks the circuit for relay ITP (seeFig. 4), and the latter relay then becomes deenergized. When relay ITPbecomes deenergized, a pick-up circuit is completed from terminal LB,over back contact I01 of relay ITP, back contact I 08 of relay DI, andwinding of relay ITK to terminal C. Relay ITK then becomes energized andis subsequently held energized to store the track-occupied indicationuntil transmitted, over a stick circuit which may be traced fromterminal LB, over front contact I09 of relay ITK, back contact H6 ofrelay ITD, and winding of relay ITK to terminal C. When relay ITKbecomes energized, a preliminary or starting circuit is closed for relayRI at the oflice, which circuit originates at the station and may betraced from terminal LB, over front contact III of relay ITK, backcontact II2 of relay ITD, back contact II3 of relay SI, back contact 26of relay DI, line wire 3, back contact I I4 of relay K, back contact 9of relay KP, and winding of relay RI to terminal C. Relay Rl at theofiice then becomes energized, picking up relays PI and K as explainedhereinbefore. When relay K becomes energized, a stick circuit is closedfor relay PI, and relay DI at the station shown on Fig. 2 becomesenergized. The circuit for relay BI is opened at back contact 26 ofrelay DI, and relay Ri releases, completing the circuit for the firstcontrol impulse through relays OT and IWR. From this point on, theoperation of the equipment is the same as that described hereinbefore,except that when relays RI and TI become energized in series, thecircuit now includes front contact 49 of relay ITK, so that the polarityof the current supplied to the circuit is such as to energize relay RIin the normal direction to swing its polar contacts to the left. At thetime relay RI becomes energized, relay PIa is also energized so that acircuit is completed from terminal B, over front contact 56 of relay RI,normal contact 5d of, relay RI, front contact 55 of relay Pia, andwinding of relay ORTI to terminal C. When relay PIa next becomesdeenergized a stick circuit is completed for relay ORTI, over backcontact I I4 of relay PIa, and front contact II5 of relay ORTI. Frontcontact II 6 of relay ORTI is thereby held closed to light lamp 5'! andindicate that the section a-b at the station is occupied by a train.

Furthermore, when relay TI becomes energized, a pick-up circuit iscompleted for relay ITD, from terminal LB, through front contact II 1 ofrelay DI, front contact I I8 of relay Tl, front contact II9 of relay ITKand winding of relay ITD to terminal C. Relay ITD then becomesenergized, and is subsequently stuck up after the deenergization ofrelay TI over front contact I20 of relay ITD and back contact 320, ofrelay TI. It should be noted that when relay ITD becomes energized, itopens, at back contact lIll thereon, the stick circuit previously tracedfor relay ITK, but relay ITK is now held up over atemporary stickcircuit including its own frontcontact I39 and front contact IE8 ofrelay DI, When relay DI becomes deenergized, this temporary stickcircuit is interrupted, but relay lTK is subsequently held up as long asrelay I'IP is deenergized, over back contact Ill'l of relay ITP.Underthese conditions, then, relays E'I'Kand ITD are both energized sothat the starting circuit through back contact H3 of relay S I is openIf now the train passes out of section ca -b, relay ITP again becomesenergized, thereby deenergizing relay ITK and again completing thestarting circuit over back contact III of relay ITK and front. contactII2 of relay ITD. Under these conditions, the apparatus is again setinto operation, but when relays TI and RI are energized in series, thecircuit will include back contact. l?! of relay ITK, so that relay RIwill be energized in the reverse direction. Under these conditions, theopening of back contact I l d of relay Plainterrupts the stick circuitfor relay ORTI, and .since the pick-up circuit for this relay is openatnormal contact 54 of relay RI, relay ORTI remains deenergized and lamp5'! is extinguished to indicate that the train has left thecorresponding tracksection. Furthermore, when relay Tl becomesenergized, the stick circuit for relay ITD is interrupted at backcontact 32a. of relay TI, so that relays ITK and ITD are now bothdeenergized and the other starting circuit controlled thereby, is open.

The; apparatus may be set into operation also by any change in theposition of the switch 8 which will be reflected in. the position of theswitch indication relay IKR. For example, I will assume that with theparts occupying the positions in which theyare shown in the drawings,relay IKE becomes energized in its reverse position to swing its polarcontacts to the right.

Whenthis happens, a circuit is completed from terminal LB, over frontcontact I2I of relay IKR, polar contact I22 of relay IKR, polar contactI23 of relay IWD, back contact, I I3 of relay SI, back contact 2 .5 ofrelay DI, and thence over line wire 3 to the office, as describedhereinbefo-re. The starting circuit. thus closed sets the apparatus intooperation in the manner previously described. ,When relays IWD and R2are energized in series, following energization of relays DI and SI anddeenergization of relay IWR during the first indication impulse, thepolarity of the current supplied to thecircuit is such that relayRfibecomes energized in the reverse'd hection toswing its polar contact63 to the right. When this happens, a pick-up circuitis completed overfront contact 63 of relay R2, reverse contact fi l of ,relay R2, frontcontact I24 of r'elayPIa and winding of relay ORWI to terminal C. Relay,ORWI then becomes energized, and whenirelay PIa again decomesdeenergized, relayORW! is stuckup over its own frontcontact I25 and backcontact 66 of relay PIa In the r'rieantime, relay ORWI has beenenergized and since relay ORWI is now energized, current is suppliedover its front contact I26 to light lam till, thereby indicating thatthe switch a on Fig. 2, occupies its reverse position. Furthermore,thecurrent supplied .to the circuit including relays IWD and R2alsoswings the polar armature IE3 of relay IWD to the right into coincidencewith the polararmatures of relay IKR, thereby breaking the startingcircuit previously described. If, now, the switch e is restored to itsnormal position, relay IKR is again operated out of agreement with relayIWD and a starting circuit is closed to set the apparatus intooperation. Under these conditions, the indicationreceived at the officeagain energizes relay ONWI to light lamp 68 and deenergizes relay ORWI,to extinguish .lamp I2'I.

It should be pointed out that if for any reason the switch at thestation occupies an intermediate positionso that relay IKR isdeenergized, no current is supplied to the circuit when relays IWD andR2 are connected in series. As a result, relay R2 remains deenergized,while relay PIa picks up to break the stick circuit for either of therelays ONWI or ORWI thus extinguishing both of the lamps 68 and I2I toindicate that the switch e at the station shown on Fig. 2 occupies anintermediate position.

. The relays IAK and IAD are arranged to provide an approach indication,under the control of relayJIAR in the same manner as relays ITK and ITDprovide a track indication under the control of relay ITR. Thus whenrelay IAR picks up or releases, a starting circuit is closed. whenrelays. IAK and IAD are out of agreement and the indication transmittedwhen relays T2 and RI are energized in series, is controlled by contact88 of relay IAK to govern the polarity of the current supplied to thecircuit and hence to determine whether or not relay ORAI at the officeis energized to light lamp 93. This feature of my invention willimmediately be apparent from the previous discussion of the reception ofthe track indication.

The apparatus is also constructed to complete the starting circuit andinitiate operation of the equipment upon any change in signalindication. Any such change in signal indication picks up relay IHK, andwhen this happens, current flows from terminal LB, over front contactI28 of relay IHK, back contact I29 of relay S2, back contact 80 of relayD2, back contact 26 of relay DI, line wire 3 and thence as before to theapparatus at the canoe. When this starting circuit is closed, theoperation of the equipment is initiated, and this operation continues inthe same manner as when any other starting circuit is completed. RelayIHK is controlled by relays IRI-I and ILH' and also by a back lock relayIX. Relay IX is energized only when relays IRH and ILH are bothdenergized, but when the condition of either of relays IRI-I or ILHchanges, relay IHK is energized for a brief interval over a pick-upcircuit and is subsequently stuck up over its own front contact I30 andback contact I3I of relay S2 until the corresponding indication has beendelivered. For example, as shown in the drawings, relay I RH isdeenergized and relay ILH is energized, as would be the case when signalILA indicates proceed. If, now, relay ILH becomes deenergized, as whensignal ILA is restored to the stop position, a circuit is completed overback contact I32 of relay IRI-I and back contact I33 of relay ILH torelay IX, which then becomes energized. Before the relay IX opens itsback contact, however, a pick-up circuit is completed from terminal LB,over contact I32 of relay IRH, back contact I33 of relay ILH, backcontact I34 of relay IX, and winding of relay IHK to terminal C. RelayIHK is therefore energized and is subsequently held up over the stickcircuit described hereinbefore. When relay IHK becomes energized, theclosing of front contact I28 completes a starting circuit and sets theapparatus into operation. Since the office relay OH has not beenenergized, relay EM does not become energized and its contact 82 in thepick-up circuit for relay ICH remains open. This contact, however, isnow bridged by contact Hit of relay HI and relay ICH picks up inresponse to the second control impulse, as previously described. RelaylCH energizes relay 82 which picks up and opens its back contact .I3I inthe stick circuit for relay IHK. Relay IHK therefore releases so thatthe starting circuit will remain open after the apparatus completes itsoperation. Since relays ILH and IRH are both deenergized, there will beno signal indication impulse transmitted over line 4 when relay ICHbecomes deenergized and relays OLHI and ORHE at the ofiice both becomedeenergized to light lamp its.

' With the apparatus in its normal condition, as shown, if relay lRI-Ibecomes energized, as would be the case if signal IRA or iRB is causedto indicate proceed, the circuit for relay IX would be broken, butbeforethe latter relay could open its front contacts, a pick-up circuitwould be closed for relay lHK over front contact I32 of relay HRH, frontcontact I35 of relay 5X and winding of relay IHK to terminal C. Theenergization of relay IHK would close the starting circuit as before tostart the system into operation. Since relay lRH is now energized,however, the indication circuit is completed when relay I OH becomesdeenergized while relay S2 is energized, and current flows from terminalLN, over front contact E36 of relay IRH, front contact iii? of relayback contact of relay I CH, front contact it of relay D2, back contact35 of relay Di, line wire 4, front contact I39 of relay P2a, backcontact Mi) of relay P2, and winding of relay R2 to terminal C. Thepolarity of the current supplied to this circuit is such that relay R2swings itspolar contact 6 to the right and current then flows fromterminal B at the office, over front-contact 53 of relay R2, reversecontact 64 of relay R2, front contact ml of relay PM and winding ofrelay ORI-II to terminal C. Relay ORHl then becomes energized and issubsequently stuck up over back contact 96 of relay Pia and frontcontact I42 of relay ORHI. As a result, lamp M3 is lighted over frontcontact EM, of relay ORHI to indicate that a westbound signal at theassociated station indicates proceed.

The operation of the apparatus when relay ILH becomes energized issimilar to that just described for the energization of relay IRH, exceptthat the circuit for relay R2 then includes front contact 565 of relaylLH instead of front contact I35 of relay iRH. The polarity of thecurrent supplied to relay R2 is thus reversed so that relay OLI-Ilbecomes energized and is stuck up over a back contact of relay P20. tolight lamp 9! and indicate that an eastbound signal indicates proceed atthe associated station.

There is one major difference between the op eration of the apparatuswhen started at the office and the operation of the apparatus whenstarted by a change in indication at the station. As shown in Figs. 1and 2, when started at the ofiice by operation of key W, the equipmentsteps through all of the stations in succession until the final countingrelay has been operated.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, when the operation is initiated from astation, the equip ment operates until that particular station has beenreached, whereupon the apparatus stops and returns to its normalcondition. To illustrate this feature, I will assume that a trackindication from the station, shown in Fig. 2, is initiated by thedeenergization of relay ITP. The system then operates as previouslydescribed until the circuit over which relays RI and TI are energized inseries is interrupted. After this happens, the next step in the sequenceof operations must be the energization of relay ICH over line wire 3. Itwill be apparent, however, that the circuit through relay iCH is open atfront contact 82 of relay [M and also at front contact I46 of relay Hi.Since this control circuit can not be completed, relay OT at the ofiiceremains deenergized, whereupon relays K and KP become deenergized,relays SI and S2 become deenergized, and the apparatus is returned toits normal condition.

It should be observed, however, that when any starting circuit is closedat a station, current is supplied from terminal LB to the line wire 3 atthat station. At any location between this station and the office, arelay corresponding to relay HI on Fig. 2, will be energized to permitthe equipment to step out as far as the station at which the indicationoriginated. For example, if a station to the right of the apparatus,shown on Fig. 2, has initiated an indication, the line wire 3A will beconnected with a source of current so that when relay D2 becomesenergized, current flows from terminal LB of the source over this linewire 3A, over front contact I41 of relay D2 and back contact I48 ofrelay HI through the winding of relay HI to terminal C. Relay HI thenbecomes energized, and a stick circuit for the relay is completed fromterminal LB, over front contact Hi9 of relay D2 and front contact MS ofrelay HI, through the winding of relay HI to terminal C. Under theseconditions, it will be seen that front contact Ms of relay HI is closedranged the apparatus in such manner that when I the operation is startedfrom the ofiice the equipment functions only until the selected stationwhich it is desired to control has been reached, and then the apparatusreturns to its normal condition. single key W of Fig. 1 with a pluralityof starting keys OWI, 0W2, 0W3, etc., one for each panel at the office.Furthermore, the relay OH of Fig. 1 is replaced by a plurality of relaysOHI, 0H2, OHS, etc, one controlled by each starting key. With thisarrangement the contact 73 of relay OH shown in Fig. l which operates tostep from station to station when the operation is initiated at theoffice is replaced by front contacts 201, 202,

etc., of relays OHI, 0H2, 0H3 respectively. If key OWl is operated toactuate the equipment only up to the corresponding station, the startingcircuit for relay RI is closed over contact 2M and the system set intooperation in the same manner as previously described in connection withFig. 1'. At the same time, the operation of contact 205 of key OWIcompletes a pick-up circuit for relay OHI, which becomes energized, andis thereafter stuck up over its own front con- This is accomplished byreplacing the tact M6 and back. contact 2b! of relay Pia; after thekeyOWl is released.

Now at the timethat the second control impulse is sent to the stationcorresponding to key OWE (in case the station illustrated on Fig. 2),relay P2 is energized. Since relay OHl is now energized, current issupplied to line wire t at the ofiice over front contact 20E of relayOI-Ii and front contact of relay P2 to energize relay lM, consequentlythe second control. impulse is received by relay NIH and subsequentlythe equipment steps to the next station. But, at the termination of thesecond impulse,relay OT picks up and energizes relay P20. as describedherein before. When relay PM picks up, the stick circuit for relay Oliiis interrupted, and the latter relay becomes deonergized. Line wire tcan not thereafter again be supplied with current for stepping fromstationto station unless another relay controlled by another startingkey is energized, the apparatus therefore drops out and restores tonormal after the transmission of the first indication impulse from thenext station.

With the modification shown in Fig. 3, there fore, the system operatesfully only as far as the station which is selected by the starting keywhich. is operated, and thus materially decreases the average time inwhich the lineisinuse for delivering control. codes. l i

It should be pointed out that the control of the supply of current toline wire t by the relays OI-ll, H2, etc, is not essential, as theserelays could be utilized togovern any control or indication circuit forthe corresponding panel, which is required to be operatedto step fromstation to station.

It will be observed that in some instances a circuit is controlled byboth the frontand back contacts of a relay. If it is desirable that thecirhave shown rectifiers connectedbetween one terminal of a relay andthe terminal 0. These rectifiers are utilized to shunt the currentinduced in the relay windings when the relay circuit is opened and tendto make the relays slightly slow releasing and also reduces sparking atthe contacts which open the relay circuits.

I have also illustrated a resistor its and a condenser iii! connectedinseries across front contact Eli of relay Di to reduce sparking at thiscontact, and a similar arrangement is also provided for front contactill of relay D2.

One advantage of apparatus embodyingmy invention is that every stationis provided with apparatus which isidentical with the apparatus locatedat every other station, irrespective of the total number of stations inthe system. That is to say, in order to increase the number of stationscontrolled from a single ofiice, all that is necessary is to extend thefour line wires l, 3 and to the stations which are to be controlled,install at each ofsuch stations, apparatus similar to that. shown onFig. 2, and add to the counting chain at the oflice, addi tional relayssimilar to relays Pl, Pia, etc, to

accommodate for the increased number of steps involved in completeoperation of the system.

Another advantage of apparatus embodying my invention is that the systemfunctions in precisely the same way whether started from the Offl0 orfrom a station and the system must operate in the manner intended sothat control impulses and indication impulses alternate on the linewires, connecting the stations successively with the office and if theparts do not function in the proper sequence, the apparatus will dropout and start over from the beginning.

Another advantage of apparatus embodying my invention is that sincelocal batteries are utilized at each station, comparatively smallvoltages may be employed satisfactorily. Excessive voltages are notrequired, because it will be noted that under no conditions are morethan two relays connected in series in the same circuit. It should bealso pointed out that one complete operation of the system. controls andindicates all functions. This feature is particularly valuable where thetime involved making changes in the condition of the devices controlledby the office levers is of primary importance.

With my invention, the. conditions of all devices may be changed duringa single operation of the equipment and in the same time as would berequired to change the condition of a single device.

Another advantage of my invention is that since the line circuits are inevery instance opened at the location where energy is supplied to thesecircuits, that is, adjacent the battery source, it is unlikely that afaulty contact or imperfect insulation would. result in a leakagecurrent to hold-up a relay which should be deeriergized, therebyinterfering with the proper operation of the system.

Finally, it will be noted that since the line circuits aresectionalized, in case any failure occurs at one of the stations, thesystem will still operate satisfactorily between the oflice and thestation at which the fault occurs. One advantage of this feature is thatit assists in discovering the location of the failure because it indicates, by the failure of the system beyond the point of failurathe pointat which the fault occurs. Another advantage of this feature is that thecomplete equipment is not thrown out of service by this fault but allparts of the system between the location at which the fault occurs andthe office can be operated at full efficiency.

As suggested above, the complete wire circuits here shown, may bereplaced by circuits each including one wire and a ground return, and itshould be understood that in the following claims, the terms linecircuit, line wire, etc. are intended to include circuits with groundreturn aswell as complete metallic circuits.

Although I have herein shown and described only two forms of remotecontrolling apparatus embodying my invention, it is understood thatvarious changes and modifications may be made therein within the scopeof the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope ofinvention.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is:

1. A centralized tramc controlling system for railroads comprising anethos having a plurality of controlling devices, a first series ofcounting relays one for. each controlling device, a plurality of controlrelays distributed at spaced points, a second series of relays oneadjacent each said control relay, means for transmitting impulsesalternately from said office and said points in sequence, and meansresponsive to said impulses for operating the relays of said two seriesin order and in synchronism and effective when each relay of said firstseries is operated to condition the control relay associated with thecorresponding relay of the second series in accordance with thecondition of the controlling device associated with the relay of thefirst series which is operated;

2. In combination, a line circuit, a series of counting relays, aplurality of movable devices, an indication relay, means for operatingsaid counting relays in order, means effective when each of saidcounting relays is operated to supply said indication relay with currentunder the control of a different one of said movable devices over saidline circuit, and a plurality of other relays each controlled by saidindication relay when a corresponding counting relay is operated.

3. Remote controlling apparatus comprising a plurality of stationrelays, a line circuit normally including a contact of each said stationrelay, a plurality of movable devices one for each station relay, meansfor operating said station relays in succession, an auxiliary relayassociated with each said station relay and each arranged to be includedin said line circuit when the associated station relay is operated, andmeans operating when each station relay is operated to supply said linecircuit with current under the control of an associated one of saidmovable devices for governing the auxiliary relay then connected withthe line circuit.

4. Remote controlling apparatus comprising a line circuit, a pluralityof control relays normally disconnected from said-line circuit butarranged at times to be connected with said line circuit in succession,a plurality of movable devices one for each said control relay, anadditional relay, and means controlled by said additional relay andoperating when any of said control relays is con-' nected with said linecircuit to supply said line circuit in series with said additional relaywith current of a selected character depending upon the condition of thecorresponding device, each control relay being responsive to thecharacter of the current supplied thereto.

5. Remote controlling apparatus comprising a line circuit, a series ofrelays all normally disconnected from said line circuit, a plurality ofmov able devices one for each relay of said series, means operating inresponse to a change in the position or" any such device to connect thefirst relay of said series with said line circuit, means for connectingeach remaining relay of the series with said line circuit when thepreceding relay in the series becomes energized, means operating whenany relay or said series is connected with said line circuit to supplythe line circuit in se ries with such relay with current of a selectedcharacter depending upon the position of the associated device, anauxiliary relay, means for connecting said auxiliary relay with saidline circuit when any relay of said series is connected with the linecircuit, and a plurality of indication devices selectively controlled bysaid auxil iary relay in accordance with the relay of said series whichis operated and controlled in accordance with the character of thecurrent supplied to said auxiliary relay.

6. Remote controlling apparatus comprising an oillce and a stationconnected by a line circuit, a plurality of movable levers at theofiice, two relays RI and OT at the ofiice, a plurality of controlrelays at the station, a plurality of devices one controlled by eachsuch control relay, a manually controlled starting key at the office,means set into operation when said key is actuated to supply said linecircuit with current at said ofiice in series with relay OT under thecontrol of one of said movable levers, means for connecting a controlrelay at the station with said line circuit when such circuit issupplied with current through relay OT, means efiective when said relayOT becomes energized for connecting relay R! with said line circuit,means efiective when said control relay becomes energized to supply saidline circuit at the station with current under the control of one ofsaid devices, means operating when relay RI becomes energized to supplythe line circuit with current at the officc in series with relay OTunder the control of a second one of said levers, means operating whenrelay OT is connected with the line circuit the second time forconnecting a second control relay at the station with said line circuit,means operating after relay OT and said second control relay areenergized to again supply relay R! with current over said line circuitunder the control of a second device at said station, and a plurality ofindicators successively controlled by relay RI,

7. Remote controlling apparatus comprising a line circuit, a holdingcircuit, a relay SI, a relay iWR, means for at times energizing relaylWR over said line circuit, means controlled by relay IWR for at timespicking up relay SI, means for subsequently holding relay SI energizedover said holding circuit, a relay S2, a relay ICI-I, means for at timesenergizing relay lCI-I over said line circuit, a pick-up circuit forrelay S2 controlled by relay lCI-I, a stick circuit for relay S2controlled by relays SI and IW'R, movable devices separately controlledby relays IWR and !CH, and indication means operated over said linecircuit.

8. Remote controlling apparatus comprising a line circuit, a pluralityof movable devices, a first relay responsive to the character of currentsupplied thereto, means for at times repeatedly operating said firstrelay over said line circuit each time by current of selected characterdepending upon the positions of a diilerent one of said devices, a chainof counting relays arranged to be operated in sequence by repeatedoperation of said first relay, and indication means controlled jointlyby said first relay and by said counting relays.

9. Remote controlling apparatus comprising a line circuit, a pluralityof movable levers and indication relays at one point, a plurality ofcontrol relays, a plurality of movable devices one controlled by eachsaid control relay, and means for delivering to said line circuit aseries of alternate control and indication impulses, each controlimpulse being of selected polarity governed by one of said movablelevers for controlling an associated control relay and each indicationimpulse being of selected polarity governed by one of said devices tocontrol an associated indication relay, and means responsive to eachsuch impulse for preparing the apparatus to deliver the succeedingimpulse in such series.

10. Remote controlling apparatus comprising a line wire connecting anofiice and a station, manually controlled means for at times supplying astarting impulse to said line wire, means operating in response to saidstarting impulse to deliver a series of alternate control and.indication impulses to said line wire, means selectively controlled bysaid control and indication impulses, and automatic means at saidstation for at times delivering a starting impulse to said line wire.11. In combination, a line wire connecting omce and a station, a movabledevice at said station, means operating in response to a change in theposition of said device to deliver a starting impulse to said line wire,means at the ofiice responsive to said starting impulse to deliver an"other impulse to said line wire, means responsive to such other impulsefor delivering to said line wire an indication impulse under the controlof said device, and indication means at the oflioe selectivelyresponsive to said indication impulse.

12. In combination, a first line wire connecting an oflice and astation,.a movable device at said station, means operating in responseto a change in the position of said device to deliver a starting impulsetosaid first line wire, a second line Wire connecting said ofiice andstation, means responsive to said starting impulse for deliveringanother impulse to said secondline wire, means at the station responsiveto said other impulse to deliver to said first line wire anindicationimpulse under the control of said device, and means at theoffice selectively controlled by said indication impulse.

13. In combination, a first line wire connecting an office and astation, a movable device at said station, a normally deenergized relayDi at the station, means operating in response to a change in theposition of said device to deliver a starting impulse to said first linewire over a back contact of relay Dl, a second line Wire connecting saidoflice and station, means at the ofiicc responsive to said startingimpulse for delivering another impulse to said second line wire, meansresponsive to said other impulse for energizing relay DI. meansoperating. when relay Di is energized to deliver an indication impulseto the first line wire under the control of said device, and means atthe ofiice selectively controlled by said indication impulse. V

14. In combination with a line wire, a series of movable devices, meansset into operation by a change in the position of. any device to deliverto the line wire an indication impulse under the control of the firstdevice in said series, a plurality of indicators one for each saiddevice, means responsive to each. indication impulse to condi tion theassociated indicator in accordance with such impulse and to coect theline wire with means for delivering an indication impulse under thecontrol of the next device in said. series, and means controlled by thelast device in series which. has been operated to prevent the deliveryof indication impulses by succeeding devices in said series.

15. In combination with a first line wire connecting an office and aplurality of stations, a series or movable devices at least one locatedat each station, a plurality of transmitting equipments one for eachsaid device, means set into operation by a change in the position of anyparticular device for successively actuating the transmitting equipmentsfor all. devices in said series up to and including the particulardevice, means operating when any transmitting equip ment is actuated todeliver to said line wire an indication impulse under the control or thecorresponding device, and indication means at said ofiiceselectivelycontrolled by said indication impulses.

16. In combination with a first line wire connesting an office and aplurality of stations, a series of movable devices at least one locatedat each station, a plurality of transmitting equipments one for eachsaid device, means set into operation by a change in the position of anyparticular device for actuating the transmitting equipment associatedwith the device of said series, means operating when any transmittingequipment is operated to deliver to said line wire an indication impulseunder the control of the corresponding device, indication means at theoilice selectively responsive to each indication impulse, and meanscontrolled. by each transmitting equipment and operating when any suchequipment preceding said device in said series is actuated to actuatethe succeeding transmitting equipment.

17. In combination with a line circuit, a manually operable key, a relayRl, a chain of counting relays, a relay K, a pick-up circuit for relayRl arranged to be closed it said hey is while relay K is deenergized, apick-up circuit for the first relay of said counting chain including afront contact of relay Rl, a pick-up circuit for relay is! arranged tobe closed ii: key is re stored to its normal position while the firstrelay of said counting chain is energized, means operating when saidrelay K is energized to deliver successive spaced control impulses tosaid line circuit, means selectively responsive to said controlimpulses, means operating during the intervals between successivecontrol impulses to deliver indication impulses to said line circuit,means responsive to successive indication i1npulses to energizesuccessive relays in said counting chain, and indication meanscontrolled by said counting. chain and selectively responsive to saidindication impulses.

18. Remote controlling apparatus comprising a line circuit, a series ofcontrol relays, a plurality of starting keys, a plurality of controldevices, one 'for each said control relay and each associated withone ofsaid starting keys, means set into operation when any starting key isoperated for successively connecting control relays of said series asfar as the relay associated with such key with said line circuit, andmeans efiective when any control relay is connected with said linecircuit to supply the line circuit with current under the control of theassociated control device.

19. Rernote controlling apparatus comprising a line circuit, a series ofcontrol relays, aplurality of starting a plurality of control devices,

one for each said control relay and each assov ciated with one of saidstar keys, stepping means set into operation when any of said keys isoperated for successively connectingthe control relays of said serieswith said line circuit, means operating when the control relaycorresponding to the operated key has been connected with said linecircuit to prevent further operation of said stepping means, and meansoperating when any control relay is connected with said line circuit tosupply the line circuit with current under the control of the associatedcontrol device.

2i). Remote controlling comprising a line circuit, plurality 01" controlrelays, a pinrality'oi movable levers and tion. relays at one point, aplurality of starting keys one for each said lever, a plurality movabledevices rol relay, .n by a move- (ill control impulse being governed byone of said levers for controlling an associated control relay and eachindication impulse being governed by one of said devices for controllingan associated indication relay, stepping means responsive to each suchimpulse for '"reparing the apparatus to deliver the succeeding impulsein such series, and means operating if said automatic means was actuatedby operating a starting key to prevent operation of said stepping meansafter the delivery of the control impulse governed by the correspondinglever, and means operating if said automatic means was actuated by amovement of one of said devices for preventing operation of saidstepping means after the delivery of the indication impulse governed bysuch device.

21. In a remote control system, an office and a station connected by aline circuit, a plurality of devices at said station, control andindication means at said OI'fiCEZ for said devices, chains of countingrelays at said oflice and at said station, respectively, meanscontrolled by corresponding relays of said chains for transmittingalternate control and indication impulses over said line circuit tocontrol and indicate said de vices sequentially, means controlled byeach control impulse to operate corresponding relays of said chains tocondition said line circuit for the transmission of the next succeedingindication impulse, and means controlled by each indication impulse tooperate corresponding relays of said chains to condition said linecircuit for the transmission of the next succeeding control impulse.

22. In a remote control system, an ofiice and a station, a series ofdevices at said station, control levers and indication means at saidoffice for said devices, a normally open line circuit from said ofiiceto said station, normally inactive control means for closing said linecircuit to transmit a control impulse from each of said control leversto operate the corresponding device, starting means for setting saidcontrol means into operation to control the first device of said series,means responsive to each of said control impulses to open said line,means responsive to each opening of said line circuit following acontrol impulse to again close said line circuit to transmit anindication impulse from one of said station devices to operate thecorresponding indication means at said oflice, means responsive to eachof said indication impulses to open said line circuit, and meansresponsive to each opening of said line following an indication impulseto again close said line' circuit to transmit a control impulse to thenext device of said series whereby each of said devices are alternatelycontrolled and indicated in sequence over a single line circuit.

23. A remote control system of the synchronous step-by-step typecomprising means for transmitting a series of stepping impulses over aline circuit from an ofiice to a station, the source of energy for thealternate impulses of said series being at said ofiice and the source ofenergy for the intervening impulses of said series being at saidstation, a series of station devices, one for each alternate steppingimpulse, means for controlling each station device according to thecharacter of the corresponding impulse, a plurality of indicationdevices at said office, one for each intervening stepping impulse andmeans for controlling each indication device according to the characterof the corre sponding intervening impulse.

24. In a signaling system, an ofiice and a remote station connected by aline circuit, a series of devices part at said office and part at saidstation, impulse transmitting means operating over said line circuit toactuate said devices in sequence each to a position selectivelydetermined by a particular impulse, and means controlled immediately byeach of said impulses for selecting the device to be operated by thenext succeeding impulse.

25. In a signaling system, two stations connected by a line circuit, aseries of devices at each of said stations each adapted to be actuatedby a line impulse transmitted over said line circuit from the otherstation, means for transmitting a series of impulses over said linecircuit alternately from said two stations, each to actuate a particulardevice, chains of relays one at each of said stations, means foractuating equivalent relays of said chains in response to each of saidimpulses, and means controlled by said equivalent relays when actuatedfor conditioning a particular device of said series for operation by thenext succeeding impulse over said line circuit.

26. In combination, an oiiice and a station, a chain of counting relaysand a series of devices at said ofiice, a chain of counting relays and aseries of devices at said station, a line circuit connecting said ofliceand station, means controlled by said chains of counting relays forrepeatedly closing said line circuit to transmit impulses over said linecircuit, receiving means responsive to said impulses received over saidline circuit to selectively actuate said devices sequen itally andalternately at said office and. at said station, sending meansresponsive to each impulse transmitted over said line circuit toterminate such impulse, and means responsive to the alternate operationof said receiving and sending means for actuating the counting relays 01said chains sequentially.

27. A remote control system comprising an of fice and a plurality ofstations, a synchronous selector located at the oflice, and asynchronous selector with portions thereof at each of said stations,means for operating said oiiice sy chronous selector in synchronismsuccessively with each of said station synchronous selectors comprisinga supplemental selector at each of said stations, that at the firststation being controlled by the synchronous selectors at the office andat said first station, and that at each remaining station beingcontrolled by the synchronous selectors at such station and at the nextpreceding station.

28. In a remote control system comprising an ofiice and a series ofstations connected by a line wire, a selector at the ofiice, a selectorat each station, means for synchronously operating the selectors at theoffice and at each station comprising apparatus for transmitting a groupof impulses alternately from the office to one of the stations and fromsaid one station to said ofiice over said line wire to operate theselectors at said ofiicc and said one station in synchronism, meanscontrolled by the selector at said one station and efiective at thecompletion of said group of impulses to disconnect the line wire fromthe selector at said one station and to complete the line wire from theOfi'lCE selector to the selector at the next station of the series toinitiate the transmission of a group of impulses to said next station.

29. In a remote control system comprising an ofiice and a series ofstations connected by a line circuit, a selector at theofiice, aselector at each station, means for synchronously operating theselectors at the oilice and at each station comprising apparatus fortransmitting a group of impulses from the ofiice to one of said stationsover said line circuit to actuate the selector at said one stationsynchronism with the office selector, means at each station forswitching said line circuit to the ofiice from said station to the nextstation at the completion of said group of impulses and for initiatingthe transmission of a group of impulses from the ofiice to said nextstation to actuate the selector at said next stationin synchronism withthe office selector, and means at each of said stations to initiate theoperation of said oflice selector to etlect the op eration of all ofsaid station selectors in sequence 30. In a centralized trafficcontrolling system for railroads, in combination, an office and aplurality of stations, a series of devices at said stations including at.least one device at each station, means including selector apparatus atsaid office and at each of said stations to successively indicate atsaid ofiice the condition of each of said station devices, means at eachof said stations for setting said selector apparatus into operation toindicate the condition of a device at such station, and means responsiveto the operation of said selector apparatus when indicating thecondition of any station device for setting said selector apparatus intooperation to indicate the condition of the next succeeding stationdevice.

31. In a remote control system including an ofiice and a plurality ofstations, a selector comprising a chain of counting relays at saidoffice, a second selector comprising a chain of counting relays of whichcertain ones are at each of said stations, said selectors being normallydeenergized and adapted when operated to close a series of contacts insequence. and to close corresponding contacts of diiierent selectorssimultaneously, means for transmitting impulses from said oihce to eachof said stations in turn to operate said contacts in sequence, meanscontrollable from said office or from any of said stations forinitiating operation of said means; means at each station forcontrolling devices at such station by the contacts of the associatedselector contacts and by said impulses.

32. A selector of the relay chain type, comprising a series of countingrelays, a pair of normally deenergized line relays, a normallydeenergized slow release relay adapted to be picked up when one of saidline relays is first energized and to be maintained in the energizedposition when the other of said line relays is energized repeatedly;pick-up circuits for each of said counting relays, the circuits forconsecutive relays being connected to the contacts of said line relaysalternately, each of said circuits except the first including 9.normally open front contact of the next preceding counting relay, thefirst circuit including a back contact and the remaining circuits eachinclud ing a front contact of said slow release relay; a holding circuitfor each counting relay including a back contact of the next succeedingcounting relay, and means for energizing said two line relaysalternately to energize said counting relays one at a time in sequence.

33. In a remote control system, means for transmitting a series ofimpulses over a line wire to a remote station comprising a pair of linerelays, starting means for energizing the first of said relays by amomentary impulse; means effective when said first relay becomesenergized for preparing a circuit for the second relay, said circuitincluding a source of energy, a back contact of said first relay, andsaid line wire and becoming closed when the first relay is released toenergse said second relay and to initiate the transmission of an impulseover said line wire; means effective when saidsecond relay becomes:rgized to open said line wire to terminate said impulse and to thenclose a circuit through said line wire and said relay; means at theremote station responsive to the termination of said first impulse fortransmitting a second impulse to said line wire to again energize saidfirst relay for repeating the above described cycle of operations.

34:. A remote control system comprising a series of stations and anoflice, line circuits for connecting each of said stations in turn withsaid office, a device at each of said stations, a selector relay and anindication stick relay for each device at said office, a pick-up circuitfor each indication relay including a front contact and a holdingcircuit including a back contact oi the corresponding selector relay,means forenergizing said selector relays in sequence, line controlledmeans effective when each selector relay is energized for closing thepick-up circuit of the corresponding indication relay, and means forcontrolling said line controlled means selectively according to thecondition of the corresponding device at the remote station.

35. Means for continuously indicating whether or not each of a series ofcontacts is closed, each said contact being located at the remote end ofan intermittently rendered available line circuit, comprising a stickrelay for each contact, each having a pickup circuit a holding circuit,means effective when any of said contacts opened or closed for brieflyopening the holding circuit of the corresponding stick relay, and othermeans operating over said line circuit and eiiec tive during the timethat said stick relay is'open to control the pickup circuit for saidstick elay selectively in accordance with the position or the associatedcontact of said series.

36. A centralized traffic controlling system railroads comprising anoffice and a p urality traffic governing devices located along thetrackway, a plurality of relays at the office one for each said device,a pickup circuit and holding circuit for each said relay, apparatus forrupturing all said holding circuits one at a time mined sequence,another relay th for successively placing other relay under the controlof said devices, means for con-- trolling the pickup circuit of relay bysaid other relay when the stick circuit for such relay is open.

37. A centralized traffic controlling system for railroads comprising anoffice and a plurality of traffic governing devices located along thetrackway, a plurality of relays at the office one for each said device,a pickup circuit and a holding circuit for each said relay, apparatusfor rupturing all said holding circuits one at a time in a predeterminedsequence, a polar relay at the office, means controlled successively bysaid devices for energiz ing said polar relay in one direction or theother in accordance with the position of the device, the

pickup circuit for each stick relay including a polar contact of saidpolar relay and being available only when the stick circuit for suchstick relay is ruptured.

38. In a remote control system, an oifice and a plurality of stationsconnected by a normally open line circuit including a pair of iine wiresand a line relay at the office, starting means at each station forclosing the portion of said line circuit extending from said station tothe office to energize said line relay, sectionalizing means at eachstation efiective when operated to open the por tion of the line circuitleading from the oflice through said station to the next succeedingstation, and to complete a message circuit including said line wires forcommunication between the ofiice and said station, means responsive tothe energization of said line relay by said starting means to operatethe sectionalizing means at the first station, and means responsive tothe energization of each message circuit for restoring thesectionalizing means at the corresponding station and for operating thesectionalizing means at the next succeeding station, wherebycommunication between the oflice and each station in turn is establishedin response to the operation of the starting means at any station.

39. In a remote control system, an ofiice and a plurality of stationsconnected by line wires, a series of movable devices at least onelocated at each station, means set into operation by a change inposition of any one of said devices for transmitting an impulse from theofiice to the station nearest the ofiice, means at each station renderedeiTective when an impulse transmitted to such station is terminated fortransmitting a return impulse from such station to the oifice, and forthen initiating the transmission of an impulse from the oii'ice to thenext station more remote from the office, means at each stationcontrolled in accordance with the position of the movable device at suchstation for determining the character of the impulse transmitted fromsuch station, indication means at the ofiice for said movable devices,and means for controlling said indication means in accordance with thecharacter of said impulses.

40. A remote control system comprising an ofiice and a plurality ofstations connected by a line wire, a transmitter contact at each sta--tion, means at each station for closing the contact at said station totransmit current over the line wire to the office when said line wire isavailabe, means at each station responsive to the flow of current insaid line wire to open said contact and to then close the line wire fromthe ofiice through said station to render the line wire available at thenext station more remote from the office, means at each station forcontrolling the character of current transmitted from such station, andindication means at the office for each station selectively responsiveto the character of current transmitted from such station.

41. A remote indication system for railroads compris ng a plurality ofdevices distributed at d fierent stations along a railway, a purality ofintermittently available line circuits each including the same line wirefor connecting each of said station devices with an associated device atthe ofiice, impulse transmitting means adapted to operate over said linecircuits, means controlled over sa d line wire and responsive to achange in condition of any of said devices to set said impulsetransmitting means into operation to transout a series of impulses forseecting each station device in turn and including means responsive toeach impulse of said series for transmitting a re turn impulse to selecteach oiiice device in turn, means for controlling the station deviceseach in accordance with the character of a selected impulse of saidseries, and means for controlling the office devices each in accordancewith the character of a selected return impulse.

42. In combination with a line circuit, a Wind ing and front contact ofa line relay in said line circuit, stepping means adapted to be operatedin response to repeated deenergization and reenergization of said linerelay, and means controlled by said stepping means eiiective when saidline relay has been deenergized to close a shunt around said frontcontact until said line relay again becomes energized.

43. In combination, a pair of line circuits each including the same linewire and arranged to be closed alternately, the first including thewinding and a front contact of a first line relay, and the secondincluding the winding of a second line relay and a back contact of saidfirst line relay, stepping means operated progressively in response tothe alternate energization and release of said two line relays, andmeans controlled by said stepping means effective when either line relayhas been energized and released for preparing the line circuit for theother line relay, whereby said other line relay may be energized andreleased.

44. In combination, a pair of line circuits each including the same linewire and arranged to be closed alternately, the first including thewinding and a front contact of a first line relay, and the secondincluding the winding of a second line relay and a back contact of saidfirst line relay, stepping means operated progressively in response tothe alternate energization and release of said two line relays, meanscontrolled by said stepping means for closing a shunt around the frontcontact in the first line circuit when the second line relay isreleased, and means for opening said shunt when the first line relaybecomes energized.

45. A synchronous selector remote control system comprising a steppingline wire, a pair of line relays arranged to be energized alternatelyand repeatedly, a chain of counting relays arranged to be energized oneat a time in sequence as said line relays are energized alternately, aseries of control circuits, one for each alternate counting relay, eachincluding a front contact of said counting relay, the winding of oneline relay and said line wire, a series of indication circuits, one foreach intervening counting relay, each including a front contact of saidintervening counting relay, the winding of the other line relay and saidline wire, means for transmitting distinctive impulses over said controland indication circuits, means responsive to said impulses to operatesaid line relays, and means controlled by said line relays to operatesaid counting relays.

46. A synchronous selector remote control system comprising an officeand a plurality of stations, a synchronous selector at the office, asynchronous selector having a portion at each of said stations, aplurality of steppin circuits completed successively and each includinga stepping wire for eiiecting operation of each of said stationselectors in synchronism with a corresponding portion of the ofiiceselector, said selectors being normally at rest ,in a zero position,means for transmitting a plurality of messages successively over saidstepping circuits during operation of said selectors, and meansincluding said stepping Wire and effective at each station provided saidselectors are at rest in their zero position for initiating theoperation of said selectors.

47. A synchronous selector remote control system comprising a steppingline and a message line, a line relay in said stepping line, a chain ofcounting relays arranged to be energized one at a time in sequence asline relay actuated repeatedly, a series of control circuits, one foreach alternate counting relay, each including sage no and a contact ofth corresponding counting relay, a series of indication circuits, onefor each intervening counting relay, each including said stepping lineand a contact of the corre sponding counting relay, means fortransmitting distinctive control impulses over each said contrclcircuits, and means for transmitting distinctive indications over eachof said indication circuits.

48. A synchronous selector remote control system comprising an ofhce anda plurality of stations, two series of stepping contacts, one at theoflice and the other at the stations, each adapted to be closed one at atime in sequence for rendering available a series of control messagecircuits from the olfice to each station in turn during a single cycleof operation. of said contacts, a rality of stick relays at thestations, including one for each message circuit, and at least one ateach station, a plurality of stick relays at the office ineluding onefor each station, means rendered effective during said cycle ofoperation oi said contacts to complete selected message circuits to pickup selected ones of the stick relays at a station it and only if theoifice stick relay station is energized, means for selectively pickingup said ofiice stick relays, means for initiating the operating cycle ofsaid contacts, and means controlled by said contacts for releasing saidoifice stick relays.

so. In a centralized traific controlling system for railroads, a controlofiice, a plurality of field stations, a stepping circuit and a messagecircuit extending from the control office to the several stations, meansin the control. office manually controllable by the operator forapplying to the stepping circuit one at time a plurality of differentcombinations of impulses, each combination of impulses beingcharacteristic of a narticular station and the controls for that st in.and means at each station for governingfithc energization of the messagecircuit when impulsesare applied to the stepping circuit for particularstation to conform with the indications to be transmitted from thatstation to the control ofilce. l

50. In a system of the type described, a control ofiice, a fieldstation, a stepping circuit connecting the control office and the fieldstation, means for energizing said stepping circuit with time spacedimpulses of selected polarities, step-by step means at the field stationresponding to take one step for each of said impulses irrespective ofits polarity, and means at, said field station distinctively controlledon each step in accordance with the polarity of the impulse for thatstep.

51. In a centralized controlling system for railroads, a control office,a plurality of field stations, a stepping wire extending from thecontrol oillce through. the several stations, means in the controlcffice for energizing said stepping wire with a series of time-spacedimpulses of selected polarities, and a bank of stepping relays at thestations operated one at a time and one for each time the steppingcircuit is energized by an impulse irrespective of the polarity of thatimpulse. I

52. In a centralized traflic controlling system for railroads, aplurality of stations, a circuit connecting said stations, means placinga plurality of series of positive and negative impulses on said circuiteach series comprising a predetermined number of. impulses, and meansdetermining whethe" a particular impulse shall be positive or ne ative,whereby the number of said distinctive series constituting saidplurality of series is equal to two raised to the power of a numberequal to the predetermined number of impulses in a series.

In a centralized traffic controlling system for railroads, thecombination with a stepping line and a message line connecting anoil-ice and a plurality of'stations, a series of relays in said officeoperated successively in response to a series of impulses each ofcontrollable character impressed upon said stepping line, meansassociated with said series of relays and responsive to each impulse todetermine the character of the next succeeding impulse, means at thestations selectively controlled in accordance with the character of saidimpulses and means at the office controlled by said stepping relays forindieating traffi-c conditions at saidstations over said message line;

54.. In a centralized trafiic controlling system for railroads, acontrol ofiice, a field station, a line circuit connecting said controloifice with field station, a plurality of traffic controlling devices atsaid field station, a plurality of control levers at said control oificecorresponding to said traffic controllin d vices, means for impressing aseries of impulses: on said line circuit having positive and/or negativepolarities in accordance with the positions of said levers, relay meansat said field station repeating each impulse of said series irrespectiveof its: polarity, a series of stepping relays at said field stationoperated step-bystep icy said relay means, contact means at said fieldstation repeating the polarity of each impulse of said series, and anelectro-responsive device at a field station for each step controlled bysaid contacts on that step in accordance with the polarity of theimpulse repeated thereby.

5 5. In a centralized trafiic control system for railroads, a controlomce, a field station, a line circuit connect ng said control oilicewith said field station, means: for impressing a series. of time spacedimpulses on said line circuit, step-loystep means at said control officeand at said field station, relay means at said ofiice and at said fieldstation repeating the impulses of said series irrespective of thepolarity of such impulses, means controlled by relay means for causingtheir respective step-b-y-step means to operate one step for eachimpulse, manually governable means: at said control office forselectively determining the polarity of each impulse of said series,contact means at the station repeating the polarity of each impulse ofsaid series, and an electro-responsive device at the field station foreach step controlled by the contact means on that step in. accordancewith the polarity of the impulse repeated thereby.

56. In combination, a line wire connecting a local office and a distantway station of a railway system, a source of energy at each end of saidline circuit, a control relay at said way station, indicating relay atsaid cflice, a way station series relay included in series with the Waystation source when said indicating relay is energized, an

office series relay included in series with said ofiice source when saidcontrol relay is energized, and means for excluding said respectiveseries relays from said respective sources.

57. In combination, a line wire connecting a local office and a distantway station of a railway system, a trafiic controlling device at saidway station, a source of energy at each end of said line circuit, acontrol relay at said way station for controlling said trafficcontrolling device, an indicating relay at said office, a way stationseries relay i cluded in series with the way station source when saidindicating relay is energized, an oflice series relay included in serieswith said ofiice source wh n said control relay is energized, and meansfor excluding said espective series relays from said respective sourcesby momentary opening of said respective energizing circuits.

58. In a remote control system, two stations connected by threeconductors, at least two operating units units at one of said stations,and means for transmitting over the conductors in a single impulse acontrol signal indicating the desired one of three possible operationsfor one operating unit and the desired one of two possible operationsfor a second unit.

59. In a remote control system, two stations connected by threeconductors, groups of operating units, and means for transmitting overthe conductors in a single impulse a report signal indicating one ofthree conditions in one ating unit or group and one of two conditions ina second unit.

60. In a train dispatching system, a control station and substationsconnected by three line wires, signalling units at the control station,one for communication with each substation, and concatenateddistributing switches at the control station for associating thesignalling units successively with the line wires and for establishingsuccessive impulse periods for each unit.

61. In a train dispatching system comprising a control station andsubstations connected by three line wires, receivers at the controlstation, one for each substation for reception of supervisory signals,and concatenated distributing switches for associating the receiverssuccessively with the line wires and for establishing successive impulseperiods during the association of each receiver, successive control andreport impulse periods being established during each such association.

62. In a train dispatching system comprising a control station andsubstations connected by three line wires, a receiver at the controlstation responsive to current combinations in the line wires adapted torespond selectively during a single line impulse to one of threepositions of one selector at a substation and to one of two positions ofa second selector at a substation.

63. In a train dispatching system, a control station connected by threeline wires to a substation, a plurality of units at the substation, anda sender at the substation adapted to transmit during a single lineimpulse a supervisory signal indicating one of two conditions of oneunit and one of three conditions of another unit.

64. In a train dispatching system comprising a control station and asubstation connected by three line wires, a receiver at the controlstation and a receiver at the substation, means at the control stationfor controlling the receiver at the substation, and a sender located atand responsive to the receiver at the substation for transmitting signalimpulses isochronously with said receiver at the control station.

65. In a train dispatching system, stations connected by three linewires, a source of current, means at each station for variably applyingcurrent from said source to said line wires, a receiver at one stationcomprising a polar and a neutral relay, the polar relay actuated bycurrent in one line wire to close one or another circuit when the linecurrent is positive or negative and neither relay actuated when thecurrent is zero, the neutral relay, actuated by local energy through thecontacts of the polar relay, being released to close a third circuitwhen the line current is zero, and traiii-c controlling devices at saidstations variably operated upon the closing and opening of saidcircuits.

66. In a centralized traffic control system for railroads, thecombination of a stepping line Wire, a message line wire and a commonreturn wire connecting an ofiice and a plurality of stations, means inthe oflice for impressing upon the stepping line wire and the commonreturn wire a series of impulses each of controllable polarity,receiving means at each of the stations controlled in accordance withthe polarity of the impulses of said series, control levers andindication means at said office, trafiic controlling means at aparticular station, and means controlled by said receiving means andacting through the medium of said message line wire and common returnWire for at times controlling said indication means in accordance withconditions at such station and for at other times controlling saidtrafiic controlling means in accordance with the positions of saidlevers.

67. A selector system for transmittin controls from an ofilce to aplurality of stations and for receiving indications at said office fromany one of said stations comprising, a stepping line connecting theofiice and said stations, means for impressing a series of impulses eachof controllable character upon said stepping line, stepping relays atthe office and at said stations operable sequentially by said impulses,a message line connecting the office and said stations, means at thestations selectively controllable in accordance with the character ofsaid impulses, a plurality of indication devices at said office, meanscontrolled by said stepping relays for controlling a selected one ofsaid indication devices to one position or another depending uponwhether said message wire is energized or not on a particular stepduring the operation of said relays, and means controlled by trafficconditions at a selected station for controlling the energization ofsaid message wire on said particular step.

68. In a centralized trafi'ic controlling system for railroads, astepping line and a message line connecting an oilice and a plurality ofstations, means in the ofiice for impressing a series of positive and/ornegative impulses sequentially upon said stepping line, means at aparticular station selectively responsive to the polarity of selectedimpulses of said series, indication means at the oflice for eachstation, and means controlled by said selected impulses for controllingthe indication means for said particular station over said message wirein accordance with conditions at such station.

69. In a communication system of the multiple impulse type forcentralized traffic control, a stepping line circuit including a linerelay, a chain of neutral stepping relays arranged in two groups whichrelays are operated sequentially by the operation of said line relay,means energized in response to the operation of said stepping relays foropening and closing said line circuit, a selector relay, means forcausing operation of saidsecond group of stepping relays followingoperation of the first group if said selector relay is in apredetermined condition, and means for controlling said selector relayfrom a distant point.

'70. In a normally at rest remote control system of the code selectivetype, a control oflice, a plurality of field stations, a normallydeenergized first line and a plurality of other lines connecting saidcontrol office with said field stations, means for energizing said firstline at said oflice to start the system into a cycle of operation, meansat said control office effective during said cycle for applyingdistinctive impulses to said first line in series with said other linesin different combinations, and means at each of said stationsselectively responsive to said distinctive impulses and said differentcombinations of said first line 19 during the cycle.

NORMAN F.- AGNEW.

